PAGAN ALTAR are the very definition of a CULT band. Formed in 1978, during the early days of the influential NWOBHM movement, they honed their craft onstage with an eerie, dramatic presentation. And yet, the PAGAN ALTAR sound tended more toward doom metal \u0096 which, back then, was not quite yet a subgenre with its own aesthetics \u0096 but also infused with their native English folk as well as hard rock. Still, the world outside the UK would not know about the band until years after their dissolution, with the 1998 release of Volume 1, PAGAN ALTAR\u0092s debut album recorded in 1982. Thereafter, the cult of PAGAN ALTAR would begin to grow, and a whole new fanbase hungry for old sounds waited for any sign of uncovered gold.<\/p>\n
In 2004, treasures aplenty began to appear. First was The Time Lord EP, which dated back to PAGAN ALTAR\u0092s very earliest days, and later that year came the full-length Lords of Hypocrisy, whose material was originally recorded during 1982-1984 but was re-recorded in 2004: past to present, the band was indeed active again! A year later, the full-length Judgement of the Dead arrived, featuring material written between 1978 and 1981 and recorded in 1982 but remastered in 1998; a bonus track recorded in 2004 was added, again bringing past to present. Past and present truly collided on 2006\u0092s monolithic Mythical & Magical \u0096 truly, a perfect description of PAGAN ALTAR at the height of their mesmerizing powers \u0096 which featured material spanning 1977-1983 but recorded over the course of 2005 and 2006. Thereafter, only two new songs would emerge for a while \u0096 one on a split with Jex Thoth in 2007, the other in 2011 \u0096 before, tragically, founding vocalist Terry Jones\u0092 death from cancer in 2015. However, before his death and led by his son and co-founding guitarist Alan, the band had been working on another album, which would later be finished and released in 2017 as The Room of Shadows.<\/p>\n
Miraculously, The Room of Shadows proved not to be the band\u0092s epitaph, as PAGAN ALTAR defy time and return with Never Quite Dead \u0096 a \u0093new\u0094 record in theory, but one bearing the imprint of the past, particularly with Terry Jones\u0092 unmistakable touch. On vocals here is Brendan Radigan, who true metallers will know from Magic Circle, Sumerlands, Savage Oath, and tons more. His somber, ever-so-poignant tones pay reverence to the prevailing PAGAN ALTAR sound whilst putting a distinctive touch upon Never Quite Dead. As Alan Jones details within the album\u0092s liner notes, nearly all the songs on the album \u0096 barring the closer \u0093Kismet,\u0094 which came as a precursor to Alan\u0092s band Malac\u0092s Cross in the early \u009190s \u0096 originated while Terry was still alive, and thus does Never Quite Dead remain an authentically PAGAN ALTAR album. From the Rainbow-rocking opener \u0093Saints and Sinners\u0094 on to trad-doom juggernauts like \u0093Liston Church\u0094 and \u0093The Dead\u0092s Last March\u0094 to the emotional climax of the aforementioned \u0093Kismet,\u0094 pretty much every aspect of PAGAN ALTAR is covered in incredibly compelling fashion\u0085even the folk instrumental \u0093Westbury Express,\u0094 keeping the mythical & magical alive. Never Quite Dead? You better believe it! <\/p>\n
Tracks:<\/strong><\/p>\n Genres:<\/strong> Heavy Metal, Doom Metal<\/p>\n Label:<\/strong> Dying Victims Productions<\/p>\n Erscheinungsjahr:<\/strong> 2025<\/p>\n K\u00fcnstler:<\/strong> PAGAN ALTAR<\/p>\n Spieldauer:<\/strong> 38:12<\/p>\n Format:<\/strong> CD<\/p>\n EAN:<\/strong> 0199066270622<\/p>\n GPSR Information:<\/strong> PAGAN ALTAR are the very definition of a CULT band. Formed in 1978, during the early days of the influential NWOBHM movement, they honed their craft onstage with an eerie, dramatic presentation. And yet, the PAGAN ALTAR sound tended more toward doom metal \u0096 which, back then, was not quite yet a subgenre with its […]\n","protected":false},"featured_media":3186477,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"product_cat":[460],"product_tag":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3186479","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-cd-o-q","7":"pa_band-pagan-altar","8":"pa_productgenre-doom-metal","9":"pa_productgenre-heavy-metal","10":"pa_productlabel-dying-victims-productions","12":"first","13":"instock","14":"taxable","15":"shipping-taxable","16":"purchasable","17":"product-type-simple"},"yoast_head":"\n\n
Manufacturer:
\nOPEN GmbH
\nBoulevard der EU 8, 30539 Hannover, Germany
\ncontact(at)opendistribution.eu<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"